Help!!! Did I make a mistake?

[julefish3]

Any guidance is appreciated!!!

 

[princessaloha]

My husband and I just purchased 120 points at Kidani and we are very excited. Congratulations! But as I read through posts, I feel like we made a mistake? There's always a moment right after everything is said and done that we as human beings question the choice we just made. That's natural Is the DVC worth it? That's very subjective. Most people here would say YES.We didn't finance anything and had the money to pay 100% upfront. Good for you! That's a wonderful opportunity to have. But will we take advantage of the DVC? Again, very subjective. We love disney and have a 14 month old Aww, love that age, their personalities start coming out at that age. Keep a camera close by at ALL times!(And hope to add to our family) so i think we will be back but I'm not sure we will be back every year? Don't need to go every year. You can bank, use and borrow and spread it out to every 2-3 years. You can also rent out the years you won't use to cover Maintenance Fees and possibly have enough left over to use towards a different type of vacation. Just do plenty of research on all your choices. Many other people I know go to non-disney places on their "off disney" years. Does that make sense? That's what we have plan Would i just bank my points (so I dont lose them) yes plus there are other choicesand then travel to non disney places yes if you like. Also, do our yearly fees go up every year? Not necessarily. That seems crazy!!! Also, how do i go about deciding when to travel next? Whenever you want as long as there's availability and you have enough points for the time of travel. Usually the sooner you can book, even if it's a year out, the better. I think our UY is feburary and i think by next feb we will have 240 points. Do we travel right away to disney? Again, if you want. see prior replyOr, I guess we can wait b/c i have two years (June 2014) to use those points, right???? Just make sure to verify and either bank or use them prior to their expirationAs you can see, I am very confused. I have done research, but with each click of my mouse I get more confused!!! Any guidance is appreciated!!!

I know more knowledgeable posters will come along and give you even better replies. Hope you're able to get the answer you need to relax and enjoy your new journey in the world of DVC!

 

[chalee94]

My husband and I just purchased 120 points at Kidani and we are very excited. But as I read through posts, I feel like we made a mistake? Is the DVC worth it?

it's worth it for me. your situation might be different.

but I'm not sure we will be back every year? Many other people I know go to non-disney places on their "off disney" years. Does that make sense? Would i just bank my points (so I dont lose them) and then travel to non disney places.

every other year is still a very workable plan with DVC. i would only use DVC pts for DVC stays, though. you could also consider DVC stays at hilton head island, SC or hawaii (subject to availability).

i'm not a fan of every-third-year use, though. too much risk of losing pts. (i am a fan of going to places other than wdw - lots to see! )

Also, do our yearly fees go up every year? That seems crazy!!!

hey, you're the one who bought in and are only just now asking about this...

yes, they go up every year (BWV went down once or twice but that was unusual.) housekeeping and front desk personnel apparently desire cost-of-living increases and such...prices for energy typically go up...and you, as the owner, are responsible.

Also, how do i go about deciding when to travel next? I think our UY is feburary and i think by next feb we will have 240 points. Do we travel right away to disney? Or, I guess we can wait b/c i have two years (June 2014) to use those points, right????

first, put aside notions of calendar years.

if your UY is feb and you just bought, then you got feb 2012 pts. feb 2012 pts are valid for stays from feb 1, 2012 to jan 31, 2013.

you can bank those pts into your 2013 UY if you do it before sept 30, 2012. (edited to add: banking is NOT automatic - if you don't take responsibility for calling and banking those 2012 pts, they will expire on jan 31, 2013.)

extra important stuff here:

1) you can only bank or borrow pts to move them 1 use year up or back.

2) once you bank or borrow pts, that transaction is final. you cannot unbank them or bank them again - they will expire at the end of that new UY. so be sure before you bank or borrow...

if you bank your 2012 UY pts into 2013, they will be valid for stays from feb 1, 2013 to jan 31, 2014. if you have not completed a stay using all of those pts by jan 31, 2014, those pts go away and you would have nothing to show for it.

another important fact: UY has nothing to do with when you can call to book.

if you called today, you could book a stay in mid-may 2013 at your home resort. mid-may 2013 is in your 2013 UY so you could use banked 2012 pts + current 2013 pts (current based on the stay even though you are not in your 2013 UY yet) + borrowed 2014 pts (if you need them).

i will add that DVC typically works "best" for those who can plan ahead and book a reservation 10-11 months out.

if you have more questions, keep 'em coming.

if you are still in a period where you can legally rescind, it sounds like you could stand to do a little more research before you make a decades-long commitment to a real estate interest contract like DVC...but if not, you don't sound like a terrible candidate for DVC (although resale might have saved you some serious money...)

 

[Missyrose]

You have 10 days (the law mandates this) to change your mind on the DVC purchase. I'm curious why you chose to buy directly from Disney. Have you looked into the resale market? Instead of paying $130 per point, you could pay $60 or so per point. Since you're not financing, you could either save the money or you could possibly buy a larger contract for less money.

As for DVC being "worth it," I think it is. But it all depends on how you plan to use your points. Can you book 7-11 months ahead of time? And be prepared for the maintenance fees to rise each year (especially at AKV, animals aren't cheap!).

There's lots of good info here and lots of smart people to answer your questions. Good luck with your decision. And don't hesitate to cancel your current DVC contract (it's your legal right) and take some time to do some proper research about what you're buying.

 

[JimMIA]

My standard answer with any timeshare purchase is, "If you have even the slightest doubt about the wisdom of your purchase, RESCIND."

As others have said, it is your right under Florida law, and that protection is there for very specific reasons.

Then, go to school on timeshares and research until you are satisfied that you understand what you are buying well enough to make an informed decision.

With DVC, resale purchases can save you big bucks (probably close to 50% savings on AKV, for example).

With other timeshares (and there are several other very good timeshare systems), the savings can be just ridiculous. For example, a couple of years ago, I bought the equivalent of about 600 DVC points in another good system for less than $2,000 total, including closing costs.

The first question I would answer is not "Should I buy DVC?"

The first question to answer is whether you want to get involved with ANY timeshare.

And if so, why?

Those answers should lead you toward an answer on DVC -- or may lead you toward another system which offers far more flexibility in a variety of ways -- or may lead you to drop the idea completely.

But I'd encourage you to answer the first two questions (Timeshare? Why?) first.

 

[ELMC]

My husband and I just purchased 120 points at Kidani and we are very excited. But as I read through posts, I feel like we made a mistake? Is the DVC worth it? We didn't finance anything and had the money to pay 100% upfront. But will we take advantage of the DVC? We love disney and have a 14 month old (And hope to add to our family) so i think we will be back but I'm not sure we will be back every year? Many other people I know go to non-disney places on their "off disney" years. Does that make sense? Would i just bank my points (so I dont lose them) and then travel to non disney places. Also, do our yearly fees go up every year? That seems crazy!!! Also, how do i go about deciding when to travel next? I think our UY is feburary and i think by next feb we will have 240 points. Do we travel right away to disney? Or, I guess we can wait b/c i have two years (June 2014) to use those points, right???? As you can see, I am very confused. I have done research, but with each click of my mouse I get more confused!!! Any guidance is appreciated!!!

I say this with all due respect and with the intention of helping you, so please accept my advice as such. From reading this post, it is evident that you do not possess the requisite knowledge needed to make an informed and conscious decision about whether or not you should have purchased DVC. I'm usually not big on telling people what to do, normally I help clarify facts and offer my opinion. But in this case I will make an exception. Without a doubt in my mind I think you should call your guide and rescind your contract (if you are within your 10 day cooling off period). You can always repurchase later. But once those ten days have passed, you are stuck (and possibly stuck with something you don't want, need or will use).

Good luck in your decision. Please follow up with us and let us know what you decided.

 

[LisaS]

Also, do our yearly fees go up every year? That seems crazy!!!

The annual fees pay for things like staff salaries and benefits, maintenance, insurance and property taxes, resort transportation and a fund for refurbishments and major repairs (things like roof repairs, exterior painting, etc.) So yes, they do go up about 3% to 3.5% each year on average. A table of the annual dues over the lifetime of DVC can be found here and a chart showing the dues through 2011 can be found here. It's good to know these things going in so you will be prepared for what you are likely to be paying in future years.

 

[Kidanifan08]

We purchased our first AKV contract direct from DVC, but we needed to finance for a few years, so we did not have another option. I was not aware of the resale market, and I'm not sure that it was that great in 2008 when we purchased anyway, particularly for AKV. We have since done 3 small add-ons, since we found out we did not have enough points for what we like to do.

Fast forward to 2012 -- a lot of AKV owners got in over their head and found out that they could not afford a timeshare (particularly DVC), which made for a glut of AKV contracts on the market. For folks who can pay cash, resale is probably the way to go. For what you paid for the 100+20 points you purchased, you could probably land a resale for between 160 and 200 points. If 120 is all you really wanted, those smaller contracts are harder to come by. Of course, 160-200 points vs. 120 points means higher annual MF's, but bigger accommodations or larger rooms!

As others have suggested, you can rescind your contract if you are within 10 days of signing. If not . . . don't freak out. We bought our contract when DS6 was 2-1/2 years old and have taken several wonderful Disney trips in that four short years. If every other year is what you want to do, you bought a nice size contract for your family of 3 (or someday more). Kids love the Animal Kingdom resort and at times it feels like a theme park of its own. The Disboards is a great place to learn a lot about how to use your DVC membership wisely. Just by finding this place you are leaps and bounds ahead of many DVC members. It won't take you long to learn the ins and outs of banking/borrowing.

Hopefully things work out four you and your family.

 

[DougEMG]

My husband and I just purchased 120 points at Kidani and we are very excited. But as I read through posts, I feel like we made a mistake? Is the DVC worth it? We didn't finance anything and had the money to pay 100% upfront. But will we take advantage of the DVC? We love disney and have a 14 month old (And hope to add to our family) so i think we will be back but I'm not sure we will be back every year? Many other people I know go to non-disney places on their "off disney" years. Does that make sense? Would i just bank my points (so I dont lose them) and then travel to non disney places. Also, do our yearly fees go up every year? That seems crazy!!! Also, how do i go about deciding when to travel next? I think our UY is feburary and i think by next feb we will have 240 points. Do we travel right away to disney? Or, I guess we can wait b/c i have two years (June 2014) to use those points, right???? As you can see, I am very confused. I have done research, but with each click of my mouse I get more confused!!! Any guidance is appreciated!!!

You're spending $15,000+ on something you aren't sure how it works! This doesn't sound like a good idea. I spent over a year reading Stuff here and else where to make sure I knew what I was getting into. It was also here that I discovered the resale market.

My advice to you would be
(1) Cancel your contract
(2) Rent points and go stay at a DVC resort and see if you like it
(3) Read everything you can about DVC so you know exactly what you are buying.

DVC is still going to be here when you finally are ready to buy, so take your time.

 

[disneynutz]

DougEMG took the words right out of my mouth.

Take the time to learn about the product, then buy resale if it still makes sense.

Bill

 

[julefish3]

Ok, I think I need to clarify a few things. For starters, my husband and I are both attorneys and we are knowledgeable about time shares and contracts etc... We also just got back from a stay at kidani and loved every second of it. When we were there we took the time to meet with a rep and we talked to others who are already members. Everyone had nothing but great things to say. My husband and I love to travel and take two over 5k trips a year (not to sound like i am bragging, but just want to tell you that we spend a lot of money on vacations so a time share would be beneficial to us). We like to go all over the world, but really feel like Disney is a place we would like to call home now that we have a family. One of my good friends has travelled the world using her DVC points and that was an important aspect in our decision.

When I found this site, I am seeing so many negatives about the DVC and I'm stunned. I even thought I would get so much positive feedback when I posted and instead I am told to back out of my contract. I basically want to know what you all love about it. Just looking for justification that this is THE RIGHT vacation club to join as there are so many others out there.

I also didn't think resale was the way to go b/c I read that you can't use your DVC to travel to non disney resorts if you bought on the resale. (?) And as I mentioned I would like to travel all over the world on the RCI network using my DVC points. But again people on here are saying that it isn't worth it. Isn't that the whole concept behind "banking" points in "the world." (i.e. so you can travel all over). We also got a really good deal as Disney was running a 20% off special for the 20th anniversary. And I am a consumer protection attorney and I am very skeptical of most companies these days (unfortunately).

I just want to know why you all love this club ... the negatives on here are really troublesome to me ... i.e. no dining plan perks, no park passes ....etc. Why did you all join and why are so many people so happy. I have been told by so many "this was the best decision I have ever made for my family" ...why????????

Thank you for taking the time to help me. I think this site really keyed me in on the confusion of the DVC (when to travel, how to use points etc.) and think I will refer to this site all the time. But I'm not sure why everyone is now telling me to cancel my contract!!!!

I hope this gave more clarity to who I am and why I joined. I will join a timeshare ... but is DVC the right one?

 

[DannysMom]

I think you got the responses you got because from your initial post it seemed like YOU didn't know enough about DVC to know if you had made a mistake or not. You asked some very basic questions that (ideally) you should have already known or asked about before you had purchased.

Most owners here (I am not one yet, but hope to be soon) will tell you they really enjoy DVC but acknowledge that it ISN'T for everyone. It is an expensive luxury purchase. It really depends on your circumstances and how you WANT to spend your vacation money.

I am planning on buying resale because for me, the savings on the purchase price outweighs the negatives on owning "restricted use" points. I really don't see my family using the benefits that have been restricted. So for me it is a pretty easy call. You may feel differently. And that is OK.

It sounds to me from the info in your second post that the money you spent is really a small portion of your future vacation spending in that case you may have done OK. But that is not for ME to say. YOU need to think that. That was why all the advice to rescind if you can. All the info about DVC is a lot to digest. It is unlikely that most people could take it all in in a short time (being attorneys maybe you can) not well enough to know if it is a good fit for them and if it makes financial sense. GL

 

[zavandor]

When I started researching about DVC, it seemed weird to me too that on this board there are so many members actually trying to dissuade people from buying.

Then I understood: if you talk to a guide, he will only tell you all the wonderful great pros to join DVC. None tells you about cons.
People here want to be sure that a new owner fully understand everything about the program, to be able to make the good decision for them.
DVC is not good for everyone.

I agree with everyone else: if you don't fell 100% confortable with your purchase and are within the 10 days grace period, it can be wise to rescind and take a few weeks to make some research.

 

[WsPrincess]

I agree with pp that from your OP you sounded so unsure. We just bought resale and we have not doubted our decision for one minute. We cannot wait to take our first official DVC trip (we used points to let me dad join us this last week).

For us resale was well worth it. We are not buying into DVC to travel to other places. From what I read, it is hard to get into prime RCI places and if we want to travel elsewhere, we will bank our points or rent them out and use the money to pay for our trip elsewhere. The points needed to travel outside Disney are just so high and we love Disney. Also, we were able to get 320 points for what it would have cost us to get 120 points direct. We now have more points to do more with (travel, rent, whatever). And even buying resale you can use RCI, you just cannot use them for Disney cruises or to stay at other hotels/resorts.

I think every family has to make the decision for themselves. I know we were 200% convinced this week when we spent 6 nights in 1 room with 3 adults and 2 kids. All we kept saying was that we could not wait until our next trip to have extra space for everyone. That is why DVC is for us!

 

[AllieV]

For a family, DVC is great because they have so many rooming options that the regular hotels don't. Sure, you could get a "family suite" at a value resort, but it doesn't sound like that's up your alley.

At the deluxe DVCs, you can get dedicated 2-br villas with lots of bathrooms. You can rent a large two-floor villa. Each of your kids can have his own room and maybe own bathroom. You can watch the giraffes graze as you sip coffee.

There are lots of cool features. For me, I was able to rent points and stay at the Boardwalk, which had cost me hundreds of dollars a night on the Inn side when I stayed there. And for the same price as an Inn room, I got a 1-br with lots of space and a huge tub. It doesn't sound like price is an issue for you, though.

If you have the cash available, you can do all the same things. You can rent the same rooms for cash. You can cruise for cash. You can go on the Disney Adventures for cash. It's not an exclusive club. You don't have to join to get those things. It does sorta lock in your price, though, and ultimately is cheaper than cash (mostly, eventually).

120 points is not a lot and won't get you far if you want to travel the world with it. But it's a good start and will get you out of your front door

 

[Kidanifan08]

We love our DVC membership and look forward to years of enjoyment. As I stated in my original post, we purchased direct in 2008 and financed the purchase. We were able to pay it off in about two years, which reduced the interest cost considerably. I was not aware of the resale market at the time that we bought, but back then, there was probably not many AKV resales available anyway.

The promotion with the 20 extra points is a nice offer -- I wish they had that when I was buying!

With regards to "traveling the world", it is going to be a little difficult to do that with only 120 points. Even if you use 3 years of points, that is not enough for 1 adult to do one of the Adventures by Disney (ABD) programs. Similarly, the point fees to trade into the Concierge Collection and DCL are quite high, and often it is difficult to get a cruise using points, due to the limited number of rooms available to DVC members. For all of these trading options, most would suggest that you are better off paying cash. The best value for use of DVC points is DVC resort stays.

That is where the resale market comes in for people with enough cash to purchase a resale contract. As I said in my first post, for the money you spent on the 100+20 points, you probably could get a resale contract with 160-200 points. That is going to get you alot more vacation for the money.

Other than losing out on those trading options, there really does not seem to be a downside to owning DVC resale contracts. We have purchased 3 resales since our original direct purchase and use our points exclusively to take DS6, family and friends to WDW.

Good luck with your decision!!

 

[ELMC]

First off, I am sorry that you are disappointed with the direction this thread has taken. Speaking as someone who has been on this message board for over a year, I can say that the advice you have received comes with the best of intentions from people who know what they are talking about. But I do appreciate that you are taking the time to continue the dialogue, even though it is not what you expected and I can imagine is somewhat upsetting to you. I'm truly sorry for that.

So moving forward, I'm not sure what you are looking for, reassurance or honesty. I'm thinking that you can get reassurance from anywhere, so I'm going to go with honesty. Even though that might not be what you really want, I think it might be what is best. But I could be wrong about that. Just know that what I say is in the spirit of having an honest, open dialogue. If, at the end, that's not what you want, then say so and I'll simply post "congratulations" and leave it at that.

First off, please go back and read your first post and now read this post. They look and sound like they were written by two different people. Your first post was manic and frenzied; full of confusion and doubt. Your second post was well written and articulate (although it still contained misunderstandings and inaccuracies). If you go back and reread your first post, I think you can begin to understand why you received the responses that you did.

With all due respect, I still maintain that you do not know enough about DVC to make an informed and conscious decision and I stand by my opinion that you should cancel your deal until you do. I'm not challenging your intelligence or your success in life, I'm simply saying that in this one small area, you don't have enough experience. Evidence to support this statement can be found in some of your quotes below:

We like to go all over the world, but really feel like Disney is a place we would like to call home now that we have a family.

Typically, people who buy DVC are true Disney fans. These are people who have been going for years or go multiple times per year. From the sound of your post, you have been once, yet you are committing yourself to essentially 50 years of future Disney vacations. My experience has taught me that people with a dearth of experience travelling to Disney who impulse buy DVC based on the assumption that they would like to travel to Disney every year usually end up regretting the purchase. That is one of the reasons why there is such a vibrant resale market.

One of my good friends has travelled the world using her DVC points and that was an important aspect in our decision.

As others will tell you (I'm hoping Dean will jump into this thread as he owns at least four different timeshare systems) DVC is a very poor option for staying anywhere outside of WDW owned resorts. There are many other reputable timeshare companies that can help you travel the world for less money with better options.

When I found this site, I am seeing so many negatives about the DVC and I'm stunned. I even thought I would get so much positive feedback when I posted and instead I am told to back out of my contract.

So there are two responses to this. The first is, if you wanted a positive response, your post should have asked for it. A post along the lines of "we just bought AKV and are excited out of our minds" would have gotten you the response you wanted. But you titled your post "Help!!! Did I make a mistake?" When you do that, you are going to get:

a) help

and

b) answers that will most likely include "yes, you made a mistake...and here's what you can do to fix it"

As far as the negatives of DVC that you're reading about on here, I can see how that would be alarming...at first. Please don't let it bother you. For the most part, we are on this message board because we love Disney and love DVC. But that doesn't mean that we drink the Kool Aid and think that everything they do is great. We are critical, educated consumers who can point out the benefits and drawbacks of this "product" that we love so much.

Just looking for justification that this is THE RIGHT vacation club to join as there are so many others out there.

If that's what you wanted, then you should have asked for that. But you asked for help and advice, not support. You need to be specific on here, or else you might not get what you bargained for. If you know that you will travel to Disney every year for at least the next 25 years, then this is probably the right vacation club for you. If you can't say that with conviction, it might not be, and I think that's what you were hearing in the earlier replies.

I also didn't think resale was the way to go b/c I read that you can't use your DVC to travel to non disney resorts if you bought on the resale. (?)

This is not true (and this is kind of what I'm talking about when I say that you are not yet familiar enough with the system to have made a purchasing decision). The restrictions on resale points prevent you from using points for Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and the Disney Concierge Collection. You may still use resale points for RCI exchanges into other timeshare companies and locations. That being said, these benefits are not guaranteed in the future for either direct or resale points, which is why people will say that you should really only purchase DVC if your goal is to stay at DVC owned properties.

And as I mentioned I would like to travel all over the world on the RCI network using my DVC points. But again people on here are saying that it isn't worth it.

Well, because it's not. First off, the majority of the time you use your DVC points to trade into RCI you are trading down (relative to value) and from what I have read, possibly in quality as well. Furthermore, as a DVC member you only have access to a small fraction of the total number of properties available to RCI in general. (My last calculation had it at about 25% of the properties were available to DVC members). So buying DVC for the purpose of getting RCI exchanges is not a wise allocation of your money.

Isn't that the whole concept behind "banking" points in "the world." (i.e. so you can travel all over).

No. And again, not to be rude, but this is another example of some of the misconceptions that you are holding onto. The terms "banking" and "borrowing" refer to the ability to transfer points from one use year into another. The purpose is to provide some flexibility if you can't make it to Disney in a particular year or if you want to save up your points for a larger vacation.

At this point I feel like your salesperson did you a great disservice. My inference is that he spent most of the time selling the magic and the pixie dust and did not take the time to teach you about the inner workings of the system. Also, keep in mind, that your salesperson is not there to offer opinions. Rather, he is there to provide facts (hopefully honestly) and make a sale. So if you say "I want to use DVC to visit other countries through RCI" he is going to say "sure, you can do that". What he's not going to say is that it is not a wise use of points and has much more limited options than other timeshare companies.

I just want to know why you all love this club ... the negatives on here are really troublesome to me ... i.e. no dining plan perks, no park passes ....etc. Why did you all join and why are so many people so happy. I have been told by so many "this was the best decision I have ever made for my family" ...why????????

In general, it is implied that we love DVC...that's why we own. I'm sorry, but in general you're not going to find the "DVC group hug" thread that you're looking for. Like I said before, the negatives come up during critical conversations of a system that it is assumed we like. We are just trying to talk about ways to make it better. To answer your question of why I personally joined DVC...I bought DVC so that I can stay in upgraded accommodations on property that come with a long term discount vs. other methods of paying for these accommodations (ie renting points or cash reservations). That's it. Why is it such a great decision for my family? Same reason...because it allows us to stay at upgraded accommodations, on property, while realizing a long term cost savings over other options. (As an aside, I am realizing these cost savings mostly because I bought resale).

Thank you for taking the time to help me. I think this site really keyed me in on the confusion of the DVC (when to travel, how to use points etc.) and think I will refer to this site all the time. But I'm not sure why everyone is now telling me to cancel my contract!!!!

We are telling you to cancel your contract because we have seen situations like yours many, many times in the past. And, for the most part, they have not worked out well. The best way to buy DVC is to spend months learning as much as you possibly can, leaving no question unanswered, and then making your purchase. In your case, you made the purchase and are now asking the questions. Getting answers you don't like can cause you stress and problems because you are already an owner. I'm not wishing anything bad to happen, but in cases like yours more times than not the contract ends up on the resale market at about half of what you paid for it and the owner writes it off as an expensive mistake. We are just trying to help you avoid the potential of being in that situation.

I hope this gave more clarity to who I am and why I joined. I will join a timeshare ... but is DVC the right one?

Your post did provide much more clarity on both of these points, so thank you for taking the time to do that. Regardless, my advice has not changed. Cancel your current contract and take the time to do the research. You should be asking "is DVC the right one?" before you purchase, not after.

I hope you take my words as they are intended, to be positive and helpful. Oftentimes it is difficult to infer tone from a message board post. Please know that my goal is to have a spirited debate about the points you have brought up in the hopes of helping you reach a conclusion. As an attorney I am thinking that you are used to that. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[chalee94]

I also didn't think resale was the way to go b/c I read that you can't use your DVC to travel to non disney resorts if you bought on the resale. (?)

did a guide tell you this?

you can trade your DVC pts through RCI whether you pay $60 per pt resale or $150 direct. (but the guides only get paid if you buy direct so unfortunately, many are happy to remain unclear on this.)

even at $60, trading through RCI is iffy...the nicer resorts can be tough to get and you may find yourself trading down a bit.

so if you are asking about financial value, buy enough DVC pts for stays at DVC resorts (including aulani in hawaii, HHI and vero beach - these are DVC resorts that you can trade to whether you buy resale or direct) and stop there. trading outside the DVC system is typically not a great deal.

I just want to know why you all love this club ... the negatives on here are really troublesome to me ... i.e. no dining plan perks, no park passes ....etc. Why did you all join and why are so many people so happy. I have been told by so many "this was the best decision I have ever made for my family" ...why????????

disney charges a premium for staying onsite. if you compare the grand floridian with the nearby waldorf astoria or four seasons, the GF will probably lose in many respects. but the location means many are willing to pay more for less.

for onsite stays, DVC is a nice way to get a discount in exchange for a long-term commitment. while some have reported issues with room condition, i have had great experiences. but if you trade out, you are often trading into places that don't have a similar "onsite premium" which is why most of the experts here will warn you to be very careful about buying to trade out.

I hope this gave more clarity to who I am and why I joined. I will join a timeshare ... but is DVC the right one?

i'd probably rescind and join TUG to spend a few more months doing research. look at the marriotts, hiltons and starwood/westins for high-end timeshares for comparison... at least search the DIS for reviews on trades through RCI (it would be great if your friend posted what resort they traded for and when - and how far in advance they started looking - since they had a positive experience.).

if you are looking for regular onsite stays at wdw, i think DVC is the right (only) choice. but i also think direct pricing is getting a little out of hand. and i would adjust your expectations as far as trading out...

 

[arpasquajr]

I personally think you will be fine. With the bank and borrow system you can go every 2nd or 3rd year. Also 120 points is not really alot of points. I bought 270 points and added on 30, 25, 25 point contracts over time. I'm willing to bet you will probably add on once you start using DVC.

Now for why I love DVC. I personally like booking 1 or 2 bedroom units to get a more home like feeling plus they also have a washer & dryer. For me a studio is more like a hotel room and I probably would not have bought in to do that. This is what I told my guide. "I'm willing to give it a chance , if I don't like it I will just sell it and chalk it up to lesson learned." Rather sell it and lose some money than hold on & pay dues. I have never looked back "LOVE DVC"

I do believe the most important reason to consider DVC, would be if you like to travel to Disney on those points. If you are looking to see the world I would not buy DVC, you would probably want to look into another timeshare. In my opinon DVC is best used for Disney stays.

I have been a DVC member for 5 years now. My kids were 3 & 5 when we first bought in. The years go by very fast, and the memeories we have created in that time are "priceless" to me. Things may change for us when they get to be adults. But I will cross that bridge when I get there. Before you know it my kids will have kids and we will make "priceless" memories with grandchildren .

 

[julefish3]

So, if i am understanding this correct. If I purchased through resale - I am not able to use my points to stay at RCI resorts (I would have to pay cash?).